"I've had a lot of dogs in my life," deadpanned Simon Cowell on Sunday night's Britain's Got Talent, "but never one like this."

The mutt in question was Pudsey, the shaggy crossbreed dance partner of 16-year-old Ashleigh Butler.

Cowell praised Pudsey to the skies as the pair made it Saturday's BGT grand final. Famously it's much harder to market non-singing winners of BGT, so what possible reason could the prime-time impresario have for backing Ashleigh and Pudsey? More cynical viewers might wonder if Cowell was serious when he asked: "Can we breed him and I can have the puppy?"